Sanchez has struggled since joining the Red Devils from Arsenal in January 2018, scoring just five goals for the club.

A number of pundits expect the Chile star, who earns around £400,000-a-week, to leave Old Trafford this summer.

Parlour has been surprised by Sanchez’s form at United and says the Premier League giants should offload him to Real Madrid, with Wales international Bale potentially heading in the opposite direction.

Bale is being strongly linked with a move from the Bernabeu, although his agent said last week he would be staying put.

Gunners hero Parlour told talkSPORT:

‘[Sanchez] was brilliant at Arsenal, fantastic. He was one of the few players you would pay to watch.

‘There’s not many of those… Eden Hazard is another one at Chelsea. Sanchez was in such great form at Arsenal.

‘I said Manchester United got an absolute bargain when they signed him because he should make your team better.

‘I’d go to Real Madrid and say let’s swap him with Gareth Bale, who would be on similar kind of wages.’

Sanchez developed into one of Arsenal’s key players but has failed to produce his best form at United and is currently out with a knee injury.

Asked to explain his poor form, former Arsenal star Paul Merson said: ‘Sanchez looks lost at the moment.

‘When you sign for Man United, you have to hit the ground running because if you fall behind, it is very hard to turn it around.

‘It is a massive football club and I just don’t see that sparkle in his eye at the moment.

‘He played like a little kid when he was at Arsenal – with enthusiasm and like every game was a dream come true to be playing.

‘He played like he was going to work his absolute socks off and give everything because it might be his last game. I don’t see that at United at the moment.’

The Gunners legend added: ‘He was the top man at Arsenal and it made a difference. ‘He was the star man and everything went through him. If he gave the ball away, it didn’t matter because he would be playing next week.

‘Then he goes to a club like United where if you have two bad games, you’re on the bench.

‘He finds it hard and I think Manchester City would have suited him a lot better than United does.’